Implement draft device and shaft support thereon



1947- I c. J. SCRANTON IMPLEMENT DRAFT DEVICE AND SHAFT SUPPO RT THEREON Filed March '9, 1945 Patented Oct. 21, 1 947 IMPLEMENT DRAFT DEVICE AND SHAFT SUPPORT THEREQN Charles J. Scranton, La Porte, Ind., assignor to Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Company, Milwaukee, Wis., a corporation of Delaware Application March 9, 1945, Serial No. 581,892

5 Claims.

This invention relates generally to draft gear for vehicles, machines, implements and the like (hereinafter called vehicles) power operated apparatus and are adapted to be hitched to and drawn behind a tractor or other 'prime mover embodying draft means (hereinafter called tractor) in a selected one of a plurality of predetermined positions and more particularly to draft gear constructions including a swinging draft frame or tongue (hereinafter called tongue) on which is mounted, for movement therewith, the forward end of a power transmitting shaft operatively connecting the tractor prime mover with the vehicle mounted apparatus to be driven thereby.

In general, most constructions of this type include a power transmitting shaft having telescoping sections and a, tongue supported bearing for the forward end of the shaft permitting the shaft to move longitudinally relative to the tongue; the provision of means for permitting such relative movement being necessary in order to enable a shifting of the tongue from one to the other of its two draft positions, in order to compensate for variations in the relation betweenthe tongue hitch and the power take-off connection on different makes and/or models of tractors, in order to compensate for relative Vertical movement of the tractor and vehicle when traveling over uneven ground, and in order to compensate for a flexing of the tongue and/or the parts supporting same relative to the parts supporting the rear end of the power shaft. In addition, it has heretofore been the practice to pivotally support the rear end of the power transmitting shaft and the rear end or the rear end portion of-the swinging tongue on either the vehicle proper or on a forwardly projecting rigid draft frame or other rigid part secured to and carried by the vehicle with their pivot points disposed in axially and/or laterally spaced relation thereby necessitating the use of a bearing support which includes parts permitting the bearing to either pivot about a vertical axis or be adjusted laterally relative to the longitudinal axis of the tongue as the latter is shifted from one to another of its draft positions.

However, such prior constructions are not entirely satisfactory in that the manufacture and assembly of a bearing support including as features thereof either a vertical pivot mounting for the support or a means for bodily adjusting the support laterally of the longitudinal axis of the tongue are necessarily more complicated and costly than it would be without such features, and in that from the operators viewpoint, it is highly undesirable to have to adjust the bearing support laterally of the tongue each time the latter is shifted from one to another'of its draft positions. Moreover, if for any reason the vertical V pivot mounting should jam or freeze or if the which embody bearing support were not shifted laterally as above indicated, a shifting of the tongue from one to another of its draft positions would place certain parts of the'bearing support under conbearing support embodying either a vertical pivot mounting or a means for adjusting thesupport laterally of the longitudinal axis of the tongue.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved power-shaft-supporting, swingingtongue type draft gear construction in that the elements thereof are so combined as to minimize both the number of parts required to support the bearing for the forward end of the power-shaft on the adjacent end of the swinging tongue and the stresses imparted to such parts as the tongue is shifted from one to the otherof its two draft positions.

Still another object of this invention is to provide an improved power-shaft-supporting, swinging-tongue type draft gear apparatus embodying elements combined and correlated to'obtain a rangements of parts as is more fully set forth in the appended claims and in the detailed description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of part of a tractor drawn vehicle embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a partial plan view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1 indicating two positions of the swingable draft gear elements;

Fig. 3 is a View taken on line III-III of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a view taken on line IV-IV of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a view taken on line VV of Fig. 1;

and

Fig. 6 is an enlarged view of the releasable latch mechanism taken on line VIVI of Fig. 2. Referring to the drawing and more particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, it is seen that the invention is illustrated as applied to-a harvester-thresher type vehicle which may include a main frame structure I mountinga transversely disposed axle 2 provided at opposite" ends with ground engaging wheels 3 and mounting a housing or body part 4 wholly or partially enclosing a threshing 5 and separating mechanism (not shown), a--:forwardly extending rigid draft frame comprising: laterally spaced pairs of upper and lower side members 6 and 1, respectively, a'front cross member 8, a rear cross member 9'- arrd.:a;;lateral110 brace member II, and a forwardlyextendin'g rigid tongue l2 mounted for?lateral swingingi' movement and retention in a selected one of a plurality of positions by having its rear end supported on the mid-portion of cross member 9 by means of a vertical pivot pin l3 and braces l4 and I6 and by having its intermediate. portion provided with a latch element l1 adapted to project through the selected one'of a series of spaced apertures Win an arcuate-shaped inters mediate portion of front cross member 8'. A spring l9 acts to maintain element l1 disposed in the selected aperture [8. The forward end of tongue I2'is provided with a hitch part 20 adapted for detachable connection with a-drawbar 2| mounted on the rear end of a tractor or'othersuitable self-propelled vehicle l5 provided with a power take-off shaft 22;

The transmission of power from power takeoff shaft 22tothemechanism' enclosedw-ithin housing 4 may be readily effected bymeans including a transversely extending shaft 23, a gearing enclosed in a boxer casing 24 fixedly mounted on a rigid frame part 25 and establishing a driving connection between shaft 23- and a forwardly projecting stub shaft" 26; a main shaft including telescoped sections 21 and 28 of which the rear end of section 2'lis universally coupled with and supported by stub shaft 26 and of which the forward end portion of section 28 is mounted' 40. in abearing 29 supported by the adjacent end of tongue l2 for movement therewith, and a short shaft section 3| having one end universally coupled with the forward end of main shaft section 28 and having its opposite end waiver-- sally, detachably coupled with'the adjacent end of power take-off shaft'22.

In this connection, it'should be noted that the universal connection between stub shaft 26wand main shaft rear'section 21, i. e., the coupling designated'32, is disposed in exact vertical aline' ment-with the underlying tongue pivot pinl3*' and that the support'for: bearing 29 comprises; as best shown in Fig. 5, a pair of standards33' mounted on opposite end portions'of a pivot pin or bolt 34 which extends transversely through tongue [2 and permits the standards tobe swung longitudinally of the tongue, anda transverse pin or bolt 36 which passes through the casing portion of bearing 29 and through analined pair of the series of vertically spaced apertures 31 in standards 33 thereby mounting the bearing for vertical adjustment relative to tongue" 12 and forpivotal-movement on pin 36,1. e., for pivotal movement about a horizontal axis, relative to standards 33. The standards 33-maybe additionally braced-in-their spaced parallel'relation shown by' means ofa spacing element or bolt 38 which also passes through an alined pair of the series of vertically spaced apertures 31.

With the various parts'combined and correlated' ashe-reinbefore described, all'that has to be done preparatory to shifting tongue l2 from one'to the selected other position is to withdraw latch element ll from the opposed aperture l8- tion wherein the vehicle 4 whereupon the tongue can be then shifted to bring latch element l'l into alinement with the selected other one of the'apertures l8 by effecting an appropriate movement of the tractor or 'by' first disconnecting shaft section 3| from powerwtake-off shaft 22 and hitch part 20 from drawbar" 2| and then manually swinging the tongue as desired. In this connection, it should n'ow'beobvi'ous'that tongue pivot pin I3 and shaft coupling32.remain"in approximate vertical alinement at all times, that the main shaft sections 2-1 and i28 'aredi'sposed and remain in overlying alined relation with respect to tongue 12 as the tongue'is swung from one to the selected other position, that the number, arrangement and construction of the means employed for securing the tongue in fixed relation to the vehicle may be varied as desired in order to permit the: vehicle to be drawn behind the tractor in any selected. one of two or more different draft positions,

that the provision of means for fixedly securing the tongue in a selected one of at least two different draft positions (three apertures l8' are shown for purposes of illustration) permits the *tongue' to, be swung laterally and secured in' either one of two predetermined positions of which one is the draft position of the tongue before'shifti'ng and of i which the other is the draft position of the tongue after shifting, that such a lateral shifting or swinging of the tongue is incapable of torsionally or otherwise stressing the structure including bearing 29 which supports the forward end portion of main shaft section 28, and that therefore it is entirely un necessary to providethe forward end portion of shaft section 28 with a supporting structure which embodies either a spherical bearing or a means which permits the structure to bodily pivot about a vertical axis or to be bodily adjusted laterally relative to the longitudinal axis of the one to the tongue-as the latter is shifted from other of its two predetermined positions.

In general, harvester-thresher type vehicles require only two draft positions, a transportposiline with the tractor as is practical and an'oper-" ating position wherein the vehicle is offset to one side of the tractor and in the path of grain and the like to be harvested. Two such draft positions are indicated by the full and dotted line' showings of the swinging tongue seen in Fig. 2. However, other types of vehicles are more particularly designed or adapted for use with row crops and in this connection it is desirable to 'provide means such as the latch mechanism here-- inabove described for securing the swingable tongue in any selected one of a plurality of. draft positions in order to obtain a definite desired relation between the tractor wheels and the wheels is not desired to limit the invention to the exact details of construction, combinations of elements, and arrangements of parts as herein shown and described for purposes of illustration:

as various modifications within the scope of appended claims may occur to persons skilled in the "art;

is disposed as nearly in i It is claimed and desired to secure by Letters Patent:

1. In combination in a tractor drawn vehicle including apparatus adapted to be driven through connection with a power take-off shaft on the tractor, a draft gear for said vehicle comprising a rigid tongue projecting forwardly from said vehicle and supported thereon by means including a pivot permitting the tongue to be swung laterally relative to the direction of travel, means for securing said tongue in a, selected one of a plurality of predetermined draft positions, a power transmitting mean operatively connected with said apparatus and includin a pivot connection carried by the vehicle and disposed in approximate vertical alinement with respect to said tongue pivot and a shaft supportingly connected with said pivot connection and projecting forwardly therefrom alongside said tongue, and means operatively supporting the forward end of said shaft on the forward end of said tongue for movement therewith.

2. In combination in a tractor drawn vehicle including apparatus adapted to be driven through connection with a power takeoff shaft on the tractor, a draft gear for said vehicle comprising a rigid tongue projecting forwardly from said vehicle and supported thereon by means including a vertical pivot permitting the tongue to be swung laterally, means forsecuring said tongue in a selected one of a plurality of predetermined draft positions, a power transmitting means operatively connected with said apparatus and including a pivot connection carried by the vehicle and disposed in approximate vertical alinement with respect to said vertical pivot and a shaft supportingly connected with said pivot connection and projecting forwardly therefrom in approximate vertically alined relation with respect to said tongue, and means operatively supporting the forward end of said shaft on the forward end of said tongue for movement therewith comprising a bearing and parts supportin same for movement longitudinally of the tongue and for simultaneous pivotal movement about a horizontal axis.

3. In combination in a tractor drawn vehicle including apparatus adapted to be driven through connection with a power take-off shaft on the tractor, a draft gear for said vehicle comprising a rigid frame projecting forwardly from said vehicle, a rigid tongue projecting forwardly from said frame and being swingably supported thereon for lateral movement to and retention in one of a plurality of predetermined draft positions by means comprisin a pivotal connection mounting the rear end of the tongue on a portion of said frame immediately adjacent the vehicle, a transverse member which extends adjacent an intermediate portion of the tongue, and a releasable connector for fixedly securing said intermediate portion of the tongue to laterally spaced portions of said transverse member, a power transmitting means operatively connected with said apparatus and including a universal type coupling carried by the vehicle in approximate vertical alinement with respect to the axis of said pivotal connection and a shaft supportingly connected with said coupling and projecting forwardly therefrom in overlying relation with respect to said tongue, and means supporting the forward end of said shaft on the forward end of said tongue for movement therewith,

4. In combination in a tractor drawn vehicle including apparatus adapted to be driven through connection with a power take-01f shaft on the tractor, a draft gear for said vehicle comprising a rigid frame projecting forwardly from said vehicle, a rigid, forwardly projecting tongue extending from a point adjacent said vehicle to a point a, considerable distance beyond the forward end of said frame, said tongue being swingably supported for lateral movement to and retention in either one of two predetermined draft positions by means comprising a connection pivotally upporting the rear end of said tongue, 3, part of said frame which extends transversely across an intermediate portion of said tongue, and additional parts for selectively, fixedly securing said intermediate portion of the tongue to said transverse frame part, a power transmitting means operatively connected with said apparatus and including a universal type coupling carried by the vehicle in approximate vertical alinement with said pivotal connection and a shaft supportingly connected with said coupling and projecting forwardly therefrom in approximate vertically alined relation with respect to said tongue, and means supporting the forward end of said shaft on the forward end of said tongue for movement therewith.

5. In combination in a tractor drawn, wheel supported vehicle including apparatus adapted to be driven through connection with a power take-off shaft on the tractor, a draft gear for said vehicle comprising a forwardly projecting rigid tongue swingably supported for lateral movement to and retention in either one of two predetermined draft positions by means comprising a connection supporting the rear end of the tongue for pivotal movement about a vertical axis, a frame part extending transversely across an intermediate portion of the tongue, and additional parts for selectively, fixedly securing said intermediate portion of the tongue to laterally spaced portions of said transverse frame part, a power transmitting means operatively connected with said apparatus and including a gear box fixedly mounted on said vehicle, a stub shaft and universal type coupling carried by said gear box with said coupling disposed in approximate vertical alinement with said tongue pivot and a main shaft extending forwardly in alined overlying relation with respect to said tongue and having its rear end connected with and supported by said coupling, and means supporting the forward end of said main shaft on the forward end of said tongue for movement therewith comprising a bearing and parts supporting same for movement longitudinally of the tongue and for simultaneous pivotal movement about a horizontal axis.

CHARLES J. SCRANTON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,999,841 MacGregor Apr. 30, 1935 1,640,642 Brown Aug. 30, 1927 1,678,114 Gustafson July 24, 1928 1,947,556 Krause Feb. 20, 1934 

